


the importance of gun safety

by novoaa1



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Guns, Kissing, Past Miles Taylor/Blair Wesley, Post-Season/Series 01 Finale, Tickling, april stevens is a dork, but then, but what else is new, dumbasses with one (1) shared brain cell between them, i actually can't believe some of her lines dude whta the fucksldjflkj, idk dude, it ends that way, started out less humorous, sterling and blair being absolute idiots, sterling is whipped already, sterling wesley is ticklish, this is all over the place, though it didn't really start out fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novoaa1/pseuds/novoaa1
Summary: “Blair—"“I almost just shot my freaking toe off!” Blair exclaims, gesturing emphatically towards the gun where she holds it in a precariously loose grip around the barrel. “Isn’t there supposed to be a safety button or something?” she asks, turning it this way and that, inspecting it with a shrewd gaze. She even goes so far as to take a one-eyed peek straight down the muzzle (as if that’ll solve the issue), and Sterling blanches.“Blair, c’mon, give me the—"BANG!Or: April finds out... kind of.
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley, Blair Wesley & Sterling Wesley
Comments: 21
Kudos: 462





	the importance of gun safety

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RenLuthor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenLuthor/gifts).



> i started this and just left it in my notes but then got a request for these two soo figured why not?
> 
> i actually adore the dynamic between sterling and blair dude holy shit
> 
> also for hte sake of this we're just pretending that some time after the lockdown, the two of them made up, okay? okay
> 
> also i still don't know how to proofread cause i'm a piece of trash so please lemme know if you see any mistkaes so i can fix them!!

It’s been a month since that train wreck of a night at the lock-in, and Sterling swears that every passing day she goes without coming clean to April about this ‘bounty hunting’ thing is taking years off her life. 

(Not even to _mention_ the whole ‘pistol-whipping her father and taking him into the police station at gunpoint to be held accountable for his crimes’ deal.)

Still, no matter how much she begs (and she does, a lot), Blair is adamant that she shouldn’t—that she _can’t_. 

On some level, she gets it. After all, Blair lost Miles (in part) because when it came down to it, she couldn’t tell him why she disappeared for hours at a time, why she was inexplicably jumpy most days and a complete enigma on others. At the very end of things, she couldn’t be honest with him—that (and a couple other things) were the final straw that ultimately ended their relationship. 

It broke Blair’s heart, losing him. Sterling would be a fool to dispute that. 

And she’s not. Really. 

It’s just… It’s just, she doesn’t want to hide. Not from April. 

And, anyways, April’s different… right? She’s known Blair and Sterling since the three of them were little kids. They were _friends_ , even. They’re set to know one another for a lifetime—youth and beyond. Decades' worth of familiarity (if not anything more) engraved within their very bones.

Miles is more recent—like, the last two years recent. It isn’t of any fault of his own, of course, or even a ‘fault’ to begin with. 

Still, she thinks there’s something to be said for the fact that they’ve known April a great deal longer than Miles, and therefore, the circumstances surrounding him and her are fundamentally different. 

And besides—April’s already made a home in her own skin telling lies to those she loves… _living_ the lie, too. 

It’s familiar to her, this concept of hiding something so centrally ingrained within you; she does it every day. 

If there’s anyone that Sterling knows (hopes) will understand, it’s her. 

But, she’s betrayed her twin once. That caused a rift between them so cavernous and wide, she'd feared it’d never close. 

She won’t endanger the delicate trust she’s worked so hard to re-establish between Blair and herself for anyone—even if that someone is April. (Even if it hurts her more than words can say.)

Regardless, it’d certainly work to significantly lessen her guilt if the aforementioned ‘bounty hunting’ gig didn’t seem to consistently land her with a freaking crap-ton of things to conceal—things that are otherwise really rather hard to just explain away without arousing suspicion.

No such luck, unfortunately. 

Instead, there’s hours of time left unaccounted for and bruising all over her body that can’t be excused beneath the guise of clumsiness (at least, not in full) and an uncomfortable feeling curling in her chest whenever April asks her how her day was—because more often than not, she can’t tell her. 

She can’t tell April about what happens when she heads over to her ‘minimum-wage job’ at Yogurtopia; hell, she's not even _at_ Yogurtopia 90% of the time. 

She can’t tell April why she’s damn near trembling with discomfort over last night’s mark, who they picked up for skipping bail on a felony rape charge. She can’t tell April that she hasn't stopped thinking about that look he gave her, the way he raked his glacial blue-eyed gaze up and down her body like he was thinking about her naked. 

She can’t tell April the truth about the lurid purple bruise marring the freckled skin of her lower back when she asks (and she inevitably will), nor does she have a suitable explanation for the bullet shell casings that wrangled their way into her book bag at some point and ended up scattered across the floor during Spanish class when Sterling pulled out her binder. 

(In the second instance, she tells April she’d brought her school things to the range with her father and Blair last they went in an effort to study for an upcoming history test, thus the burnt shell casings—but she’s pretty sure April didn’t buy a word of it.

Sterling can’t really blame her.)

All she knows is it’s getting increasingly harder to keep April and the bounty hunting separate, and that scares her. A lot. 

Mostly, she’s scared that they’ll inevitably reach a breaking point—like Blair and Miles did. 

That’s easily the most terrifying thought she’s had all month. 

— — 

Things keep steady for another week or so before it all promptly goes to hell in a freaking handbasket. 

It’s around 7:00pm on a Tuesday night. Their parents are out, so she and April are cooped up in Sterling’s room. They don’t pretend to be doing homework or something even remotely productive—not that the only other occupant of the house (Blair) would expect it of them to begin with. 

Speaking of, Sterling isn’t totally sure what Blair’s up to at the current moment, but she vaguely recalls hearing her door shut around 6:00pm and remain that way since. She takes that to mean her sister's just killing time in her own room next door, doing… whatever it is she does nowadays since time with Miles stopped being a factor. (As Sterling thinks it, she instantly feels guilty. She makes a mental note to initiate some more sister bonding time in the near future—get the two of them back on the same page.)

April pushes Sterling down onto her back, grins hungrily at the quiet _“Oof!”_ she lets out as all the air leaves her lungs in a rush, and all thoughts of Blair fade into white noise. 

April’s brash, assertive nature is reflected back in spades, the way she comports herself while they’re together—and God help her, but Sterling really wouldn’t have it any other way. The ravenous look that enters jade-green eyes when the crushing weight of every stifling inhibition in their path gives way; the lack of any misgivings in her movements as she crawls up the length of Sterling’s body, stalking her like a predator would its prey. 

It stimulates immensely where it used to irk, and Sterling cedes herself willfully unto it. 

They fall into an open-mouthed kiss and it’s perfect—sloppy, tentative, laced with hints of the spearmint gum April’d been chewing earlier at school. April is relentless: silencing Sterling’s breathy moans with frantic kisses, her smooth palms roaming up and over Sterling's stomach beneath the rucked-up hem of her uniform blouse. It makes Sterling feel positively molten, and she can’t get enough. 

April pulls away to gasp, “Can I take this off?” Her hands tug at the starch-white fabric of Sterling’s blouse, fingers tracing the top buttons. 

Sterling manages a jerky nod. “Totally.”

April grins and rewards her by leaning back down for a gentle kiss that quickly becomes heated, her nimble figures working Sterling’s blouse open button by button in the meanwhile. 

A minute later, April’s shoving her uniform impatiently down either shoulder, letting it fall down off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. 

“Oh,” April pants breathlessly, forehead rested against Sterling’s as she shamelessly drinks in the sight of a half-dressed Sterling below her. 

Sterling feels a heated flush rising up her neck beneath inspection, making her cheeks burn with the kind of profound humility that only ever feels this sweet where April is concerned. She’s never liked being the center of attention, the one who inspires scrutiny and draws a crowd—at least, never to the degree that Blair seemed to crave it. 

But this… she doesn’t mind this. (Not by a long shot.) April’s pupils are blown, leaving only the thinnest ring of forest green around them, and the way she’s looking down at her—like Sterling’s the only thing that matters. 

“You’re exquisite,” April murmurs hoarsely, and Sterling’s caught between hiding herself and laughing. 

She huffs out a chuckle instead, cheeks flaming. “‘Exquisite,’ huh?”

April rolls her eyes, smiling so widely Sterling can’t help but wonder if it hurts. “Be quiet.”

“Yes, ma’a—"

April stops her with another bruising kiss that makes her toes curl, pleasure roiling vehemently in her chest. Sterling flings her arms round April’s neck, opens her mouth to her questing tongue like it’s the most natural thing in the world—and right now, it really does feel as though it is. 

April’s hands begin to roam, grazing down her sides—

“Ah!” Sterling gasps into their kiss, followed by a choked giggle that has April immediately pulling back, eyes wide like she fears she’s hurt her. 

Sterling doesn’t know how to communicate that it’s just the opposite as another brush of her uncalloused palm against the curve of her waist makes her squirm. 

_Crap_ , Sterling thinks, surging forth for another kiss only to find herself stopped by a gentle finger against her lips. 

April looks down at her curiously, a single brow cocked. “Are you… ticklish?” she asks with an element of awe. 

Sterling frowns beneath the finger on her lips, averting her gaze. “W-What?” she manages, words muffled. “I—No, of course not. Don’t be—  
" Another graze tickling the skin just aloft her hipbone, “— _Ohhhh_.” She writhes, feeling a laugh bubble up in her chest that she struggles to keep at bay. 

April gasps, as if utterly scandalized. “You _are_ !” 

“N- _No_ , April, I’m not—Ohmy _fuck_ , that’s not fair—"

She doesn’t even have enough presence of mind to be embarrassed about the swearing.

“Admit it,” April presses, delight sparking in her gaze. Another calculated drag against her side, blunt nails scraping assuredly over goose-pimpled flesh makes her cry out; her body jerks and contorts almost comically as a tortured sound caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob escapes her. 

“I— _Aah!_ Okay, o— _ohhhhhh_ , okay—“

**_BANG!_**

The telltale sound of gunfire freezes her in place. April lets loose a muted shriek, tumbling off of Sterling like she’s been hit and falling to the floor with a muffled curse. 

Sterling’s gaze darts frantically around in a frenzied search for the assailant, breath caught in her throat, adrenaline roaring in her veins. 

“STERLING!” Blair yells from next door, followed by the telltale sound of heavy footsteps stalking across their shared bathroom. 

“Blair!” Sterling calls back. She scrambles to peer over the edge of the bed to see a wide-eyed April sprawled across the floor, chest heaving. “Oh, my God, are you oka—?"

Blair barges into her room with Sterling’s Glock in hand and an utterly scandalized expression upon her face. “Dude, what did I say about leaving your guns in _my_ room?” she demands, and Sterling whirls around atop the covers to face her. “Also, why aren’t you wearing a shirt?"

The angle makes it such that she can’t see April where she lies breathless and panicked on the other side of the bed—which Sterling is belatedly realizing could very well turn into a problem if left unaddressed. 

“Blair—"

“You know what, actually, I don’t care—because I almost just shot my freaking _toe_ off!” Blair exclaims, gesturing emphatically towards the gun where she holds it in a precariously loose grip around the barrel. Then, as if spurred on by a sudden realization, she curls her other hand around the grip and begins squinting along the ejection port. “Isn’t there supposed to be a safety button or something?” she asks, turning it this way and that. She even goes so far as to take a one-eyed peek straight down the muzzle (as if that’ll solve the issue), and Sterling blanches.

“Blair, c’mon, give me the—"

**_BANG!_**

Blair screams as the gun fires again, and Sterling screams louder—but April’s definitely the one that screams the loudest. 

“ _Shit_ !” Blair screeches, gaze darting from the gun’s smoking barrel to the round bullet hole marring the ceiling to a gaping Sterling. 

Sterling takes the opportunity to lunge forward off the bed, snatching the gun from Blair (she’s relieved beyond words can say when her twin capitulates without protest). She expertly flicks the safety back on with a huff of relief, heartbeat thundering in her ears. 

“First thing tomorrow, we’re going to the range,” Sterling grumbles, gingerly setting the gun aside atop the vanity. 

Blair just blinks, tilting her head. “You heard that, right?”

Sterling tenses. “Heard what?”

“There’s someone else here!” Blair hisses, glancing fervidly this way and that. “Like—"

“Please don’t shoot!” comes April’s trembling voice from the other side of the bed, both hands up in the air, palms out in a show of surrender. 

Blair’s eyes bulge as April comes into view—rising tentatively to her feet from behind the bed, trembling hands held aloft her head. (Sterling can’t help thinking she looks quite lovely.)

“ _Fuck_. What the hell is _she_ doing here?"

“I tried to warn you… ”

— —

**Author's Note:**

> definitely lemme know what you thought!
> 
> (my [tumblr](https://psyches.co.vu/) or just search me up @ultralightdumbass to come talk to me there!)


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